Lena Dunham, Mindy Kaling and the Importance of Live Panels

I’m a fan of both Lena Dunham and Mindy Kaling. Yet I found myself somewhat surprised by just how impressive I found both women while recently watching their contributions to a Sundance live panel moderated by Emily Nussbaum via YouTube. I tried to pinpoint why exactly I was so taken with the extent to which I found both women endearingly self-aware, thoughtful and humble.

Perhaps, I finally realized, it had something to do with the panel format itself. Instead of answering the typical lazily sexist questions both women are frequently asked — like about existing as a female in Hollywood or what it was like to work with [insert male co-star here] — these talented individuals were given open platforms to discuss substantive issues they actually care about. Dunham, Kaling …

Five TV Characters Who Could Use A Raise

How Liz Lemon feels about the wage gap

There are so many awesome depictions of professionally ambitious ladies on TV right now. But after thinking about Equal Pay Day yesterday, and acknowledging that women still earn an average of only 77 cents to every dollar men earn, I had to wonder: what’s Liz Lemon’s wage gap? Are ALL of my favorite working women on TV underpaid? After looking into it, I came up with a depressing answer: yes. Here are my top five favorite underpaid female heroines. Who are your TV working heroines? Who did I leave off the list? Let me know!

1) Liz Lemon of 30 Rock

The very first person I thought of when I thought about hard-working women on TV was OBVIOUSLY Liz Lemon. Girlfriend …

Ladies Abound On The Small Screen–But Not Behind It

Mindy Kaling, breakout star of the Emmy-winning TV show, The Office, garners a lot of attention for her wit and comedic timing as Kelly Kapoor, Dunder Mifflin’s token mean girl and general hot mess. Eventually, Kaling became the only female writer on the hit NBC series, writing and directing numerous episodes before ultimately being promoted to Executive Producer. This season, FOX gave Kaling a seven-figure deal to create her own pilot. The Mindy Project, which premiered on September 25th, is an ingenious blend of Kaling’s typical humor: girly naïveté mixed with feminism, a different take on the modern woman looking for love.

In an interview with New York Magazine, Kevin Reilly, an executive at FOX, said of Kaling: “She has a very contemporary voice. She’s really smart about how open …